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Cubs CHC

199768–94 (0.420)
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GM: Ed Lynch

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1997, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$39M
Surplus $M
-16
Win %
0.420
TAB
-11.5
WAB
-13.7
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
22.5
Dead money %
25%
Depth Players
4.0
Dead WAR
-5.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1997 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RScott Servais118
LTyler Houston41
RMike Hubbard20

1B

LMark Grace148
LBrant Brown12
LDave Hansen4
LTyler Houston2
RJosé Hernández1
RScott Servais1

2B

RRyne Sandberg126
RJosé Hernández20
RManny Alexander⇄13
RMiguel Cairo9
LDave Hansen1
LTyler Houston1

3B

RKevin Orie112
LDave Hansen51
RJosé Hernández47
LTyler Houston12
RMike Hubbard1
RRey Sanchez⇄1

SS

RJosé Hernández21
RManny Alexander⇄20
RKevin Orie3
RMiguel Cairo2
LTyler Houston1

LF

RDoug Glanville120
LBrant Brown27
LBrooks Kieschnick26
LDave Clark24
RShawon Dunston⇄7
RJosé Hernández6
RTerrell Lowery5
LRobin Jennings4

CF

LLance Johnson⇄39
RDoug Glanville30
LRobin Jennings2
RTerrell Lowery2

RF

RSammy Sosa161
LBrooks Kieschnick1
LDave Clark1
RDoug Glanville1

DH

LDave Clark4
LLance Johnson⇄1
RRyne Sandberg1

Starters

RSteve Trachsel1.7 WAR
RKevin Tapani1.6 WAR
RMark Clark⇄1.3 WAR
RFrank Castillo⇄1.1 WAR
LTerry Mulholland⇄1.1 WAR
RGeremi Gonzalez1.0 WAR
RAmaury Telemaco0.7 WAR
RKevin Foster0.2 WAR
RMiguel Batista-0.1 WAR
RDave Swartzbaugh-0.1 WAR
RRodney Myers-0.1 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTerry Adams18 sv
LBob Patterson0 h
RKent Bottenfield0 h
LRamon Tatis0 h
RMel Rojas⇄0 h
RTurk Wendell⇄0 h
RMarc Pisciotta0 h
LLarry Casian⇄0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1996)

PlayerfWAR
Kevin Orie2.3
Kevin Tapani1.6
Mark Clark1.3
Terry Mulholland1.1
Geremi Gonzalez1.0
Dave Hansen0.5

Key subtractions (gone from 1996)

Player1996 fWAR
Jaime Navarro3.0
Luis Gonzalez2.7
Leo Gomez1.7
Jim Bullinger1.1
Dave Magadan0.6
Doug Jones0.3

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Cubs. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1997; everyone else is shown as a 1997 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Mark Grace 1997 +4.7 +44.8 4.5 +40.3 $1.0M 1.20× –
Brian McRae↔ 1997 +2.3 +21.9 2.8 +19.2 $1.2M 1.22× –
Sammy Sosa 1997 +2.5 +24.1 5.5 +18.6 $2.2M 1.22× –
Steve Trachsel 1997 +1.7 +20.6 2.1 +18.5 $1.2M 1.49× –
Kevin Orie 1997 +2.3 +15.7 0.1 +15.6 $0.1M 0.85× –
Kevin Tapani 1997 +1.6 +19.3 3.8 +15.5 $2.3M 1.49× –
Terry Adams 1997 +1.0 +10.6 0.2 +10.4 $0.2M 1.34× –
Doug Glanville 1997 +1.5 +9.8 0.2 +9.7 $0.1M 0.83× –
Mark Clark↔ 1997 +1.3 +10.2 0.6 +9.6 $0.5M 1.02× –
Geremi Gonzalez 1997 +1.0 +8.2 0.1 +8.1 $0.1M 1.02× –
Frank Castillo↔ 1997 +1.1 +9.0 1.0 +7.9 $0.9M 1.02× –
Terry Mulholland↔ 1997 +1.1 +8.5 1.5 +7.0 $1.4M 1.02× –
José Hernández 1997 +0.9 +4.1 0.5 +3.7 $0.5M 0.58× –
Bob Patterson 1997 +0.8 +4.1 1.1 +3.0 $1.4M 0.67× –
Dave Clark 1997 +0.5 +3.3 0.5 +2.8 $0.9M 0.83× –
Dave Hansen 1997 +0.5 +2.5 0.3 +2.1 $0.6M 0.58× –
Scott Servais 1997 +0.8 +3.3 1.4 +2.0 $1.7M 0.52× –
Marc Pisciotta 1997 +0.2 +1.3 0.1 +1.2 $0.6M 0.67× –
Turk Wendell↔ 1997 +0.3 +1.4 0.3 +1.2 $1.0M 0.67× –
Kevin Foster 1997 +0.2 +1.4 0.3 +1.1 $1.6M 1.02× –
Lance Johnson↔ 1997 +0.3 +2.0 1.1 +1.0 $3.5M 0.83× –
Manny Alexander↔ 1997 +0.1 +0.7 0.1 +0.6 $0.5M 0.61× –
Dave Stevens↔ 1997 +0.1 +0.3 0.1 +0.2 $2.2M 0.67× –
Miguel Batista 1997 -0.1 -0.7 0.2 -0.9 – 1.02× –
Larry Casian↔ 1997 -0.2 -1.2 0.1 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Dave Swartzbaugh 1997 -0.1 -1.2 0.2 -1.4 – 1.02× –
Kent Bottenfield 1997 -0.2 -1.2 0.2 -1.4 – 0.67× –
Mike Hubbard 1997 -0.5 -2.1 0.2 -2.3 – 0.52× –
Brant Brown 1997 -0.3 -2.2 0.2 -2.4 – 0.83× –
Tyler Houston 1997 -0.7 -2.7 0.2 -2.9 – 0.52× –
Rey Sanchez↔ 1997 -0.5 -2.2 0.9 -3.1 – 0.58× –
Mel Rojas↔ 1997 -0.5 -2.8 3.2 -6.0 – 0.67× –
Shawon Dunston↔ 1997 -0.7 -4.6 2.0 -6.6 – 0.83× –
Ramón Tatis 1997 -1.3 -6.9 0.1 -7.1 – 0.67× –
Ryne Sandberg 1997 +0.7 +3.2 3.2 -0.0 $4.5M 0.56× –
Amaury Telemaco 1997 +0.7 +6.0 – – – 1.02× –
Brooks Kieschnick 1997 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Miguel Cairo 1997 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.56× –
Ramon Morel↔ 1997 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Robin Jennings 1997 -0.2 -1.5 – – – 0.83× –
Rodney Myers 1997 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Terrell Lowery 1997 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+22.7+206.038.9+163.9—

Trades

Every graded 1997 deal involving the Cubs — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 8 total.

1997 · CHC / NYM
CHC · Ed Lynch +$61.6M
Lance Johnson, Mark Clark, Manny Alexander
NYM · Joe McIlvaine −$61.6M
Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, Turk Wendell
CHC came out ahead by $61.6M
1997 · CHC / WSN
CHC · Ed Lynch +$0.0M
Gil Heredia
WSN · Jim Beattie +$0.0M
Saul Bustos, Dave Jefferson
Even trade
1997 · CHC / NYY
CHC · Ed Lynch +$4.8M
Frisco Parotte
NYY · Bob Watson −$4.8M
Rey Sánchez
CHC came out ahead by $4.8M
1997 · CHC / CIN
CHC · Ed Lynch +$0.8M
Curt Lyons
CIN · Jim Bowden −$0.8M
Jay Peterson, Ozzie Timmons
CHC came out ahead by $0.8M
1997 · TOR / CHC
TOR · Gord Ash +$1.6M
Trevor Schaffer
CHC · Ed Lynch −$1.6M
Sandy Martínez
TOR came out ahead by $1.6M
1997 · WSN / CHC
WSN · Jim Beattie +$14.4M
Miguel Batista
CHC · Ed Lynch −$14.4M
Henry Rodríguez
WSN came out ahead by $14.4M
1997 · CHC / COL
CHC · Ed Lynch +$4.0M
Matt Pool
COL · Bob Gebhard −$4.0M
Frank Castillo
CHC came out ahead by $4.0M
1997 · PHI / CHC
PHI · Lee Thomas +$64.8M
Doug Glanville
CHC · Ed Lynch −$64.8M
Mickey Morandini
PHI came out ahead by $64.8M

Current & Historical Payroll

1997 payroll
$38.7M

What the front office was committed to as of 1997, 1997–2003. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (18)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Sammy Sosa288.000$5.5M$8.3M$9.0M$11.0M$12.5M$15.0M$16.0M
Mark Grace339.000$4.5M$4.2M$4.1M$5.3MFREE AGENT
Kevin Tapani338.000$3.8M$4.0M$3.5M$6.0M$6.5MFREE AGENT
Ryne Sandberg3716.000$3.2MFREE AGENT
Mel Rojas307.000$3.2MFREE AGENT
Brian McRae297.000$2.8MFREE AGENT
Shawon Dunston3412.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Terry Mulholland3411.000$1.5M$600k$1.8MFREE AGENT
Scott Servais306.000$1.4M$1.6MFREE AGENT
Lance Johnson3310.000$1.1M$4.9M$5.1MFREE AGENT
Bob Patterson3812.000$1.1M$900kFREE AGENT
Frank Castillo286.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Rey Sanchez296.000$925kFREE AGENT
Mark Clark296.000$619k$5.0MFREE AGENT
Dave Clark3411.000$450kFREE AGENT
José Hernández276.000$450k$725k$1.6MFREE AGENT$460k
Dave Hansen287.000$325kFREE AGENT
Larry Casian317.000$95kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Steve Trachsel264.000$2.1MARB 3FREE AGENT
Turk Wendell304.000$280kARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Foster284.000$275kARB 3FREE AGENT
Kent Bottenfield285.000$195kFREE AGENT
Miguel Batista265.000$153kFREE AGENT
Dave Stevens273.000$131kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Manny Alexander265.000$78kFREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (17)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Terry Adams242.000$215kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tyler Houston261.000$185kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brant Brown261.000$155kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Glanville261.000$155kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Swartzbaugh292.000$154kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Hubbard262.000$153kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ramón Tatis240.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marc Pisciotta260.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Geremi Gonzalez220.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Orie240.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Miguel Cairo231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Robin Jennings251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brooks Kieschnick251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Terrell Lowery260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ramon Morel222.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rodney Myers281.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Amaury Telemaco231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1997 acquisition stacked onto Cubs's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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